A Wedding in Ahualulco, Mexico

Jose Villa did an absolutely beautiful job of capturing this wedding which took place in Ahualulco, Mexico. I especially love the above photograph of the bride going up the aged steps in her trailing ruffled dress. Simply gorgeous...

Joining the Procrastinator's Party

Woo hoo! I'm joining in with the Inspired Room Procrastinator's Party and proclaiming that I will redo my laundry room. Below you can see some before pictures. Truth is that I didn't remember to take the pictures until I had already cleaned out the room.

There is usually a laundry basket sitting on the dryer, clothes folded on the counter, other junk, and the ironing board is usually set up in the 5" of floor space.

I iron my clothes. Do you? This is a habit I've decided to try and curb. If I can break myself of ironing all the time then I won't have to have that 5" of floor space taken up.

This is the plan: paint, hang chandelier, replace knobs, remake picture memory board, some sort of rack for hanging clothes, and a rack to hang ironing board on. Also need to add some cute things in there that just make the room more fun.

How much have I procrastinated about this room? I think I talked about this a year ago! It's so embarassing. So here we go! Go visit The Inspired Room and join in too. :) Come back here on October 20th to see the final product.

Temptation

Just ran into the grocery store for a pound of ground beef.

The candy corns were there....you understand. Then I remembered the candy corn and peanut combination discovered last year.

Why, oh why, did I buy them?

No Drama

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Self care pro Cheryl Richardson's motto is: "Work Hard, Have Fun, No Drama." Pretty good one to follow no? Below is a summary/excerpt of a little article she wrote regarding the topic:

We all get caught up in drama at one time or another. It comes in many forms. Sometimes the drama occurs in our minds -obsessing over something we did in the past, worrying about whether or not we'll get an outcome we desire, or overthinking a problem to death. You know you're caught up in drama when you feel a sense of ongoing, emotional entaglement in a situation - a circumstance that seems to take over your life.

While there are some events that will take time to get resolved, that doesn't mean that you have to suffer. If drama is on your plate, a few things you can do: (1) stop talking about it since doing so only gives more energy to the problem; (2) identify the button pushers -oftentimes drama is fueled by unresolved past issues that get stirred up by present-day problems; (3) visualize a successful outcome for all those involved -put energy into the solution.

There's an old saying that you can't have a war when one side doesn't show up. Be that side. Do what you have to to address the situation and then walk away from the drama. Not only do you give yourself (and the problem) the greatest chance for a successful outcome, more important, you protect your peace of mind - the most valuable gain of all.

To view the entire article, go here.

Guess What We Saw?

Carolyn and I went and visited the Annual Parade of Homes last Friday.

Guess what we saw that totally excited us...wallpaper! It's true.

Now I realize that for some of you this sounds awful or maybe people still use it where you are. We haven't seen any wallpaper in our area in a few years. I told you once back here that I'm the only nerd in town that still has wallpaper, right? I say this lovingly so please don't get your feelings hurt if you have some. Because you see...I love wallpaper.

Have you seen the gorgeous wallpaper that Sue has? Or that Cathy has? I just swoon when I visit their blogs. Have you seen the toile that Penny is going to put in her bathroom? Love it!

I made a brief visit to the American Blinds and Wallpaper website and these caught my fancy.

I think I'd have to avoid those huge flowers.

The damask patterns seem to be popular.

Love this brownish pattern below although it wouldn't match anything else in my house.

My two very favorites from a Pierre Deux book.

I could be convinced again. Could you?

10 Honest Things & 7 Brilliant Bloggers

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image via here

As mentioned yesterday, I was tagged by Kristin over at Discover Interior Design for the Honest Scrap Award. Following the award rules, I am to share 10 Honest Things about myself :

1. I permed and highlighted my hair in high school...it was pretty much a frizzy dry mess!

2. I'm so bad at maintaining my plants. They certainly don't look this good:

image via here

3. Although I took a few levels of advanced calculus in college, should someone need help with that subject, I'd be totally useless because I can't remember a thing!

4. When I was younger I hated my name because when we'd go to theme parks, I could never find a souvenir with my name on it.

5. I get nervous if I'm traveling to a new place and I don't have my GPS navigation system with me.

image via here

6. I can be a total crybaby.

7. On days when my hair is "second (or third) day dirty", I'll put it in sleek ponytail...it usually looks better than when I try to do a ponytail with freshly washed hair.

image via here

8. I wish I had paid better attention in my accounting classes -it'd really come in handy right now that I'm starting my own business.

9. I live in a big city but eventually I plan on moving to a smaller city, particularly one where there's less traffic. I love being in laid-back relaxed environments, preferably near the beach!

image via here

10. I hate washing the dishes and usually leave that chore for my husband to do :)

Now, to pass on the award to 7 brilliant bloggers, here are my picks (in no particular order):

I hope you'll spend some time checking out each the blogs above. You're sure to find great inspiration! Have a lovely weekend!

Premiering Today: Lonny Magazine

If you haven't already heard, there's a new design magazine around and its available for viewing in its full version online! I'm talking about Lonny magazine, which is edited by the very talented Michelle Adams of Rubie Green and Patrick Cline of Brand-Arts, and just premiered today.

In a time when shelter publications are turning their last pages Lonny magazine's mission is to reopen the doors of accessible design. They share the belief that good design and affordable design can coexist and that true inspiration can be found in the teeniest of homes or in the grandest of spaces.

I did a quick flip through (I'll be returning to read it thoroughly once I get an uninterrupted relaxed time) and am so far impressed with the multitude of inspirational interiors including the homes of Design Sponge creator Grace Bonney, former Domino editor Deborah Needleman, and my favorite, the beach house of former design publisher Kate Townsend-Simpson. Check it out:

To view the entire first issue click here.